Third Way Opportunity 2020—The Way to Win
Third Way, the national think tank, in conjunction with the Black Economic Alliance and Winston Fisher, gathered Democratic officials, strategists, constituency leaders, campaign staff, and influencers from early and battleground states to chart the way to win in 2020.
Opportunity 2020, The Way to Win, was held in June 2019 at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, and built on Third Way’s 2018 strategy session in Columbus, Ohio, where Democrats coalesced around a message of economic opportunity that delivered the House majority and helped rebuild the Blue Wall. Empire installed environmental branding throughout the venue to create a sense of place for all attendees so that everywhere they turned, carefully-curated images would remind them of their goals for 2020. These included a 3D display at the ballroom entrance, scrolling images on built-in screens, and strategically placed banners and graphic walls.
Third Way Opportunity 2020 kicked off with a plenary session in the smaller of the two ballrooms set in a theater arrangement supplemented with soft seating for networking and a custom stage branded for the event. The two-hour plenary featured presentations and panel discussions with University of South Carolina Director of the Center of Education and Equity of African American Students, Dr. Jennifer Reed, Senator Chris Coons, and New Mexico Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham. Immediately following the session, attendees moved upstairs to the Galleria for an opening reception.
The next day, the plenary was held in the large ballroom where Empire built a three-tier amphitheater to create a more intimate setting for the presentations. Presenters and moderators included Executive Director of the Black Economic Alliance, Akunna Cook, Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, Congressman, Joe Cunningham, President Obama’s 2012 campaign manager and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Jim Messina, and former Obama White House Communications Director, Jen Psaki.
The conference wrapped with a reception on the roof deck of the nearby Dewberry Hotel.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
